CD Reviews

The Dylan ... Neo Psychedelic

R. Kesler | USA | 10/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Unnoticed bands, of quality, always seem to gather my attention, often these bands have but one single strong album, and even with that, they seem to come and go without much fan fair ... such is the group "The Dylans."

The Dylans came out in the late 1980's riding the wave, like so many groups in the 1960's, of acid fueled dance halls, with the idea that "love is all you need," and of course a communal understanding, melding of ideas and values ... and like the 60's, not only the music, but the ideals almost worked again. The Dylans must have had some credibility, because they were picked up by non other then the Beggars Banquet Label, which says something.

As with groups like The Teardrop Explodes, Soft Boys, The Mighty Lemondrops, House Of Love, The Charlatans UK, and Echo And The Bunnymen ... the main course of The Dylans was to help you make your trip. With the ideals of the early Pink Floyd singles in mind, they set out combining fuzzy guitars grooves, vocals mixed for effect with echoes, and swirling melodies, in a more then successful nostalgic psychedelic adventure. The songs are seamless, folding and unfolding, then folding back onto themselves.

The outings by bands such as the Dylans, who have never given an explanation for the band's name, but obviously a nod to Bob Dylan [Zimmerman], and they always scripted the name "The Dylans" within the shape of a lemon [perhaps a nod to Lemon, a Quaalude manufacturer], stood in stark contrast to the gloom and doom music of the day, produced by such groups as The Sisters Of Mercy, Joy Division and Bauhaus.

This self titled release is as strong as you are every going to find. As with the best of the best of the psychedelic bands, while it all sounds so very easy and off the cuff, the music is complex and structured ... very demanding for the musicians, yet floats across the heads of the listeners. It is this writer's opinion that the surface of the genre, surrounding neo-psychedelic music, has not even been scratched or given the exploration it deserves ... it seems that it will take at least another five years before fans look back and discover what they have missed.

It was this lighter more pop form of the psychedelic sound that lead to the development of groups like The Darkside and the Jazz Butchers ... but either way, you can mix the tunes of The Dylans with any of the psychedelic genre and be pleasantly surprised at the shimmering sparkles and flow of colours that evolve and ripple from your speakers.